IN a month which has so far included fog, snow, rain and floods, the clouds cleared just in time for the unveiling of two newly-restored sundials.

They have adorned the walls of the Restaurant on The Green, in Richmond, for almost three centuries.

Eagle-eyed passers-by will have noticed they have been missing over the past few weeks while they have been in the Manchester workshops of restoration expert Professor Alan Smith.

He was called in to repair the damage done by wind and weather.

They are now back in their accustomed place, replaced while the sun shone on Thursday.

Restoration cost £1,100, although Richmondshire District Council gave £300 towards the bill.

Both sundials are now back in pristine condition, much as they would have been when they were first erected by William Hutton, who used to live at the restaurant when it was a house in the 1720s.

Writing in Sundial magazine, Prof Smith said: "The great weight and fragility of these two dials made handling them difficult.

"It made the whole job an interesting and quite demanding experience.''